Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas has expressed his concerns about the team's late introduction of upgrades to the C44 F1 car. This has had a significant impact on the team's performance throughout the season.

Uncovering the Delayed Upgrades and Their Consequences

Introduction to the Late-Upgrade Issue

Sauber, the only team on the Formula 1 grid yet to score any points this season, has faced a primary issue of a lack of car development. With massive internal changes underway to make way for Audi's takeover in 2026, the performance of the car has been neglected. This led both drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, to struggle throughout the year. After the US Grand Prix, Sauber introduced a major update in Las Vegas, which is expected to influence the design of the 2025 car. The update features new underfloor geometry, along with modifications to the front 'fences,' floor edges, and diffuser. These changes are said to have made a positive impact on the car's stability and overall downforce.

Bottas feels it is quite "ironic" for the changes to arrive at this stage of the season, especially when he will be parting ways with the team to most likely rejoin Mercedes as a reserve driver next year. Speaking about the delayed upgrade, the Finn said:

"It's very late in the season and we've been waiting for these improvements for a long, long time.So it's kind of ironic [sic], but it is what it is. But at least we can now try and do something and just need to make the most out of it.It was quite a strange qualifying actually, every run was different. Balance was a bit everywhere, which was not the case yesterday. So we only made minor changes.I don't know what was going on, but still I was aiming to be in top 10, but I think we've got to be happy as a team."

The New Front Wing Profile

Sauber declared a new front wing profile in the FIA documentation for this weekend, although it is essentially a revision of an existing design. The changes are aimed at achieving a broader balance range. Bottas added:"It's just like a trim.I think it's still purely the diffuser. The floor we had in Vegas is making the difference.That just made a step and, on this track, it just seems to help. It's just all-round downforce, a bit more consistency. As the grid is tight, everything helps.I think in theory, it was [an improvement of] three tenths [of a second per lap], which is decent in a tight field."